PT104 data logger

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luke
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Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:39 pm

PT104 data logger

Post by luke »

1) does it have a long term stability. If the PRT was to be kept at a constant temperature how would the reading vary over a period of months to years?
2) is the software suitable for use on a raspberry pi?

Thanks

Gerry
PICO STAFF
PICO STAFF
Posts: 1145
Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2014 11:14 am

Re: PT104 data logger

Post by Gerry »

Hi Luke

1/ (a) Yes, it does have long term stability. The PT-104 uses reference resistors for its measurements, and the reference resistor that we have in our data logger out performs all other technologies available for applications that require high precision and high stability.
(b) The most accurate RTD sensor is a 1/10 DIN with a worst case accuracy approaching 0.2% of the reading. If you compare that to the accuracy of the PT-104, which is 0.01% of the reading, you can see that it is over 10x more accurate. The accuracy is based upon the reference resistor mentioned earlier, which has a maximum drift of 0.005% for a long time period, if you are not using it at its rated power (which you won't be) or at the maximum operating temperature of the PT-104 (which you shouldn't be). Also, if it is not in constant use, then the drift period will become extremely long and depend upon how it is used (Range), how often it is used, and for how long, and also how it is stored when not in use (temperature/humidity, etc).
So, if we say, at worst case you may see the accuracy of the PT-104 drop by 50%, this is still about 10x the accuracy of the RTD sensor, and you are not going to notice it. In any case we recommend that our customers get the PT-104 calibrated annually (more frequently, if it is used and/or stored in conditions likely to accelerate the drift), which would remove any drift long before it becomes a problem.

2/ Our Picolog 5 software will not run on Linux based platforms (and although you can get Windows 10 IoT Core to run on the Pi, it won't run traditional Windows GUI based apps, such as PicoLog 5). However, we have a Beta version of PicoLog 6 available, which will run on Linux. It hasn't been tested on small single board Linux based platforms such as Raspberry Pi, so at this point in time we can't guarantee that it will work. Alternatively, you can use our Software Development Kit to develop your own application on the Raspberry Pi.

Regards,

Gerry
Gerry
Technical Specialist

luke
Newbie
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:39 pm

Re: PT104 data logger

Post by luke »

Thanks Gerry
I was also wondering if you know what libraries that i could download for the Pi in order to access the logger? as we don't need to use the software.

Regards
Luke

Gerry
PICO STAFF
PICO STAFF
Posts: 1145
Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2014 11:14 am

Re: PT104 data logger

Post by Gerry »

Hi Luke,

You can download the drivers for your application from here: https://www.picotech.com/downloads/linux .
The Ubuntu repository referred to is actually a Debian derivative, which is what Raspbian is based upon. You can also run Ubuntu directly on Raspberry Pi 2/3 (see here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ARM/RaspberryPi).

You can download C/C++ examples from here https://github.com/picotech/picosdk-c-examples .

Regards,

Gerry
Gerry
Technical Specialist

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